An international team of researchers has proposed a name for a type of brain disease that causes dementia symptoms: Limbic-predominant Age-related TDP-43 Encephalopathy, or LATE.

The name brings together previously identified conditions linked to a protein that damages regions of the brain.

The damage causes memory and thinking problems, similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.

Alzheimer's disease is thought to be caused by an accumulation of 2 types of protein, tau and amyloid beta, in the brain.

LATE is thought to be caused by another protein, TDP-43, which is usually present in the centre of nerve cells, but may change form and spread into the body of nerve cells as people get older.

It's thought to affect around 20% of adults over 80. Some people may have both types of disease.

At present LATE can only be diagnosed by examining brain tissues after death.

Researchers say it may explain why some recent trials of treatments for Alzheimer's disease have been unsuccessful.

They say treatments may have effectively treated the proteins that cause damage in Alzheimer's disease, but LATE may have continued, masking any improvements to Alzheimer's symptoms.

They're calling for research to find markers that allow LATE to be diagnosed before death so clinical studies on its causes and potential treatments can begin.

But understanding of this condition is still in the early stages and as experts say, it's not something that could be currently diagnosed in the clinic.

Why is this in the news?

A group of researchers working in this area came together to publish a consensus report in the peer-reviewed journal Brain.

It's open access, so you can read the report for free online.

The researchers come from 22 universities and research institutes in the US, the UK, Sweden, Australia, Austria and Japan.

The consensus report:

describes the main features and effects of the disease on the brain

sets out proposed diagnostic criteria to diagnose and stage LATE in examination of the brain after death

sets out what's known about the clinical effects of the disease

considers the possible effect of the disease on public health, now and in the future

sets out priorities for research

The working group members say they want to encourage more research into the disease, and hope that the criteria they propose for diagnosing LATE will help to focus and clarify research in the future.

What kind of research was this?

The consensus statement was based on a review of existing studies about TDP-43 brain diseases, Alzheimer's disease and reports of dementia symptoms with no signs of Alzheimer's disease.

The working group discussed the research they found and drew up a statement summarising what they thought previous research shows us, how it should be interpreted, and how the disease should be categorised and researched in future.

What's the difference between LATE and other types of dementia?

Dementia is a syndrome (a group of related symptoms) associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning.

There are many types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, and LATE.